# Lightening Black Hair



## ienjoymakeup

I dyed my hair black in January, and I still can't stand it. I'm just too pale, I look gross. I tried to dye it a dark brown color yesterday since the box said that it could lighten it a couple shades, but it didn't show up at all and just made the black more vibrant. I've decided to go to a salon and have it lightened since I obviously can't do it myself. Sooo my question is, how light should I go? I have a couple colors in mind, but I'm not sure if it would be too much for my hair at once or not. my hair _was _a light copper/brown before i dyed it.

here are the colors i was thinking of.












if i went to one of those would it fry my hair? thanks for any help  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## FearlessBunny

Dye can't lighten dye. That's why your hair didn't get lighter. It's going to be a processes to get the dye out. I wouldn't recommend bleaching even lighter because it will be horribly damaging. Unfortunately with hair dye, black is the hardest to get out.


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## LaItaliana

_*Hey girl i had the same problem except my hair was dark brown with red in it. Get you some one n' only color fix from sallys. It works wonders ..you'd be amazed. It took my hair to a ugly organgy yellowy blonde so you have to dye it after you use it. Otherwise you gonna look funny... And go 2 shades lighter than what you want because hair is porous after you use the stuff and color will grab really quick. It's not really that drying and is easy and cheap. Much better than payin $100+ for a double process at a salon. go over to makeup alley or folica an read review there if ya want*_


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## TheOpenRoad

I had black hair a while back and the only way to get the color that light for me was to bleach it out (I know, I know, not the best process but at that point what can ya do), and then dye over it. It worked really well. Well, actually, since the bleach lightened it to kind of an orangy (similar to what LaItaliana said about that "color fix" stuff), as long as the dye you use over it isn't red based, it won't keep that orangy look. But after all that processing you definitely will want to baby your hair for a while until it is back to normal.


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## selene

Just be careful, and read this post... :frown:

https://forum.makeuptalk.com/f13...ght=black+hair


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## ienjoymakeup

Thanks for the suggestions. So basically my only option is to bleach it out? That scares me, lol. Ughh why did I ever dye my hair? Would it be safer to just strip the color or is it too late?


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## MindySue

i stripped color out of mine.no bleach. totally killed it. black sucks. ill never do that again.


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## KatJ

Don't bleach it... Use a color stripper (like the one n only), it will lighten your hair up to the lightest stage it has been. Then you can put whatever color you want to over it.


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## justdragmedown

the first color looks great. You should try that brown expressions. It says for naturally dark hair, but i used it when i had my hair dyed black so it would be a ligter brown and about two months later went to the salon and had the rest bleached. I believe garnier makes it.


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## ienjoymakeup

I almost bought that, but when it said not recommended for dyed hair I got scared. Thanks  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## southcitybabe

A decent professional can fix it for you, let it grow out alot first, It took me a few months to get to a nice brown color and im ready to go blonde now  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## Lissaboo

i got the same problem, the black looks good but I'm bored with it and miss my natural color which is dark brown with a little auburn in it.Blech I've been looking for something to strip my hair with but can't find anything.I hope you have better luck lol!


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## Duchess Ravenwaves

I like the color in the first pic, and I think as long as you go to a professionl hair stylist that it will be fine.


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## justdragmedown

Did you try the lightening product on your hair? Or a you just gonna wait it out?


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## kaliki tiki

In January I dyed my dark brown hair black with Natural Instincts and it didn't wash out after the 28 shampoos like the box warned. I was bored by March and wanted to lighten it to a light brown. I used Couluer Experte in a light ash brown color, it got the black out and lightened it to a medium brown with reddish highlights. 2 weeks after that I used a highlighting kit and it lightened it up some more. 2 weeks later I highlighted it again and now it is a lighter brown with various warm highlights. I have gotton compliments on it even though it is still too warm for me. My hair is still in good condition even after all that. I think I will lighten it up a little more and then I will use an ash toner to get the red out. Just wanted to let you know what I did to lighten up from black-good luck!


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## rivercor

Black is a hard color to get rid off.


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## clairenm

Hey I dyed my hair jet black, and I looked like an emo Morticia Adams. It was very intense and wig-like. The only thing that really worked to fade it was to pour Neutragena anti-residue shampoo on my head, wrap it in plastic and sleep on it. When I woke up and rinsed it out, it was a nice, natural black-brown. Don't listen to anyone who says that the only way to lighten dyed black hair is to strip it!


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## dontcryjudy

i know it is near impossible to color dyed black hair without stripping or bleaching color. best tip for stripping / bleaching is do it on 2-3 day unwashed hair. it works with the oils in your hair so it doesn't completely fry you hair.


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## MsTique

Honestly, Bleach isn't as scary as some people make it out to be...if you know/or know someone who knows how to use it. That's the trick! I've gone to hair design school and corrective coloring was my department. But mostly I have learned by doing..On My Hair!! Funny how wrong hair color can go at times.. lol. Yes, bleach has its damaging effects, but once you get the results your looking for, getting your hair back to a healthy state is not that hard. It might be a little rough around the ends and midshaft, but any kind of leave - in conditioner with avocado and olive will smooth it out. I should know. I've experienced many hair disasters over the years. *laughs about it* I could write a novella about it. :laughing:


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## mollydolly

well if you just want a normal looking brown, strip the black out (don't put the stripper on your roots though) leave it on until it's about a shade lighter than the color you desire (mine did not turn orange at all...), then color it over that. i've done this exact process, and my hair was fine. then i could use color on it and lighten my hair evenly. and it looked fine. no more damaged than it was before. the trick is to not leave it on longer than you have to.

your problem might be the color your using. i'm assuming it's from the drugstore in a box. they only sell that with 20 volume developer which is used for depositing, not lifting, color. in order to lift color you would need a color lighter than your shade and also 30 or 40 volume developer. you will have to get some professional products, but it's possible to do yourself without going to the salon.


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## Maria63

I have naturally black hair.   This works for me everytime.  When I want to lighten it or get the black out to a medium brown, I use blond hair coloring.  This lifts the color of black out to brown but you may get red highlights.  At least I do. It's not real noticeable unless you are in the sun.   

I use revlon blonde or clairol blonde.   Then wait 2weeks and do another lighter color.   If you do a brown haircolor,  I suggest leaving the hair color on for only 10 minutes.  Anything longer than that will make your hair black.  Hair for some reason sucks up the brown/black more than any other color.

Also, I recommend using semi-permanent color, the kind that washes out after so many shampoos.  That way if you don't like the color, it's easier to dull it out.   I would use that until I found the right color I wanted and then find it in a permanent shade.

Good luck!  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />


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## UrbanFool

I highly recommend a professional... one that specializes in hair color --not just your average salon. You want some hair left when it's all over, and best to not be the consistency of cotton candy. As one who goes to cosmetology school, I've seen a lot (and a lot of it not good.)

I love this video although her hair was natural to start, but it took 5 hours to lighten her hair to blonde. It had to go step by step.

 
Plus, she really does look awesome at the end. I'd like to know what kind of ordeal her touch-ups are though.

Also, the daughter of a friend of mine had blonde hair and dyed it black, and I'm not sure what she used to get it out, but her hair was like straw afterwards. (Her beautiful silky hair!)


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## sarahfields20

were could you buy this dye that you first used to lighten? like walmart maybe?


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## zadidoll

The thread is from 2007. If you're looking for info on how to lighten black hair the answer is going to depend on if you want to use bleach, high volume peroxide or just go a few shades lighter which can be done using 10 volume to 20 volume peroxide.



> Originally Posted by *sarahfields20* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> were could you buy this dye that you first used to lighten? like walmart maybe?


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## marrymemakeup

> I love this video although her hair was natural to start, but it took 5 hours to lighten her hair to blonde. It had to go step by step.


 Wow... she looking really amazing .. Nice video share !!


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